One Reason
by DevilsThunder
Summary: With their relationship in decline, Tori and Jade decide to go away for the weekend in a last ditch effort to save it. Assuming, of course, it can be saved. That's what they're trying to figure out. Two-shot. Established Jori.


**A/N This is going to be a two-shot. I just kinda wanted to explore what it would be like with established Jori. Like, how their relationship might end up. Because Jori is awesome, don't get me wrong, but also extremely volatile. So this is the result.  
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**Disclaimer: Nope. Still not mine, even after all this time.**

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_There are seventy-three reasons why we cannot work._

_There are seventy-three indisputable reasons that sufficiently articulate exactly why we could never work as a couple. Nevertheless, I have ignored every single one of them, because she was worth it. She still is. However, those seventy-three reasons have become much harder to ignore in recent days. They have rooted themselves in countless and viable instances that I can catalogue, inventory, and pull for reference material as examples to support my decision._

_I have to leave her._

A growl ripped through Jade's throat as she furiously jammed a finger into the Backspace button, finding the repetitive motion much more cathartic than just highlighting the text and hitting Delete. Her relationship problems were not an acceptable topic for an essay. It was an idiotic essay for a terrible filler course, so she had no desire to do well in it, but she would not risk her perfect grade point average by airing her dirty laundry in an essay. No, she would settle for writing about something completely mundane and _safe_, like the trajectory of her career after graduation given her talent and determination. She could probably even manage to formulate an equation factoring in her attractiveness, as well.

She would not mention Tori Vega or the seventy-three reasons that stated they could never work in a relationship, however tempted she may have been to do so. She would not make a bulleted list detailing every fracture between them. She would not make graphs and charts that visually represented their chaotic descent into mutual routine and obligation. She would not undo the deletion of her introduction and spend her entire free period in the library writing an essay about how and why she had to break up with her girlfriend. She would not stay there through half of lunch, typing furiously to convince herself that she had to do what she knew had to be done.

Only she did. So at the very least, she would not turn any of it in, because her failing relationship was not an acceptable topic for an essay.

The headphones were yanked off her head as a body dropped into the chair next to her. Jade quickly slammed her laptop shut, fear turning to anger before she even had time to process the change of emotion. "What?" she snapped, more out of habit than anything.

Tori pulled her bag into her lap with a sigh, sitting sideways to face her girlfriend. "I called your name, like, five times."

"I was working on an essay," responded Jade blandly.

"Yeah, I saw the pie chart." The slightest quirk of Tori's eyebrow drew a mirrored response from Jade. "What kind of essay needs a pie chart?"

Relief washed through her body at the statement, a confirmation that the brunette hadn't seen what the pie chart was depicting. If she had, the conversation would have taken a drastically different turn by now. "A stupid one for public speaking." Jade had been strong-armed into taking the course at Sikowitz's insistence that it would help her learn to communicate like an actual human being, rather than "the delightfully terrifying spawn of Satan" that she currently resembled.

Tori's eyebrows jumped quickly as she brushed off the entire topic. "I got a burrito, in case you were hungry," she said, digging a hand through her massive purse. Jade just held her palm up, waiting as her girlfriend rummaged through god only knows what to find it. When it was finally freed from the vortex of Tori's monstrous bag, she slapped it into Jade's waiting hand.

"Dude," Jade's face scrunched up as she pulled the wrapper back, "it's half eaten."

"Well, I got hungry trying to track you down," replied Tori dismissively, tugging the strap of her bag up her shoulder, already preparing to leave again. After five seconds of interaction, it seemed like she couldn't wait to get away. "Did you ask your mom about this weekend?"

Jade shook her head, which caused Tori's shoulders to slump. It had been the topic of their most recent argument, and the reason Jade was sitting in the library writing an essay on why their relationship couldn't work any longer, but before a whole new fight could break out, she quickly said, "She's got a business thing in San Fran and won't even know I'm gone."

"Oh." Tori gave a small nod, her frustration fizzling out into… disappointment? Jade's head cocked as she wondered if Tori had been hoping for an argument, or for her to say she couldn't go. It would validate Reason 26 even further if that was the case. "Okay, well, just make sure to have your stuff ready on Friday."

"I know." Her grip tightened around the burrito. "Bags packed because we're leaving straight after school." She didn't even have the will to fight over them not fighting. She didn't have the will for anything anymore.

Tori's lips pulled into a tight smile, but it didn't reach anywhere near her eyes. They still shone like stars, but some stars have already died by the time their light reaches Earth, and that's what Tori's shine had turned into. The reminder that it existed, long ago and far away, but whatever caused that original light had long since faded, died off, and only the shadow of that memory remained. "I love you." The way Tori said that was almost like a question, like she was trying to remind herself that it was true. Or, at the very least, it used to be and might still be.

"Love you, too." Jade leaned over and gave her a quick peck on the lips. Tori stood up with a nod and left.

Jade's eyes drifted between her laptop and the half-eaten burrito. Reason 53 in a nutshell.

* * *

Tori left the library with a weight that she had grown far too accustomed to on her shoulders. No matter what she did these days, Jade never reacted with more than a shrug or a half-hearted roll of her eyes. Even their fights had devolved into scenes from a poorly written script that neither of them had any desire to act out. It was as infuriating as it was depressing. The burrito, for example. The old Jade, the Jade that Tori had fallen in love with, would've made a scathing, but hilarious, comment or squeezed its contents into Tori's hair, or… anything, really, besides just sit there and accept a half-eaten burrito.

It probably wasn't healthy, but Tori had taken to pushing as far as she possibly could, just to get some sort of reaction. It never worked and she was running out of options. That's really what had sparked the idea for this weekend. It was a last-ditch effort to salvage whatever they had become, if there even was anything left to save. Maybe a weekend away, without wacky friends or crazy family or kooky problems, could rekindle their relationship, because Tori really didn't want to break up with Jade.

But there was just… nothing there anymore. Sure, Tori loved Jade and she knew that Jade still loved her, but it had become so different. When they first got together, it had been exciting and interesting and _so perfect_. After countless months of Tori and Jade fighting and flirting and totally falling for each other, Beck had finally called it off for good, because it was clear to everyone that Jade wasn't his anymore. And it had been a hard few weeks, because Tori wanted to be respectful of Beck, but the boy had actually locked her in the janitor's closet with Jade and told them they weren't allowed back out until they had good and properly confessed their feelings for each other.

They didn't do any confessing, really, and Beck bid them an awkward goodbye at the noises he heard through the door.

But it had been really good for a long time. Over a year. They still bickered and teased each other relentlessly, but there was always an undercurrent of love that kept Tori grinning even when she was on the receiving end of a scissor threat. Then the bickering eventually simmered to the occasional comment here or there. Jade still snapped at anyone else who got too close or annoyed her, but she stopped teasing Tori. It was almost sick how much Tori missed Jade's horrible impression of her voice.

She could only hope that, maybe, if the two of them could have some real time alone, they'd be able to get some kind of spark back, because their relationship was a bonfire dying out. Tori had thrown every piece of kindling she could find onto it, but it never caught. They still loved each other, they still connected perfectly in a physical aspect, but there was an unspoken resolve there. Sex felt good, so they did it, but it didn't leave Tori panting and breathless and beautifully _wrecked_ the way it used to.

It was almost like Jade had given up, put some expiration date on them and decided to just go through the motions until they went stale. Which they were very close to doing.

"Tor, I love you, but you look terrible."

She let her forehead fall against her locker with a groan. "I know."

Andre leaned his shoulder on the locker next to hers. "Why the funk, chica?"

"I think I have to break up with Jade."

He let out a low whistle, his strong hand rubbing gentle circles into her back. "Why do you want to break up with her? I mean, she's crazy, so I get why, but-"

"I don't!" Tori's head shot up as her bottom lip pushed out in a pout. "I don't _want _to break up with her."

His brow knit in confusion. "Then why are you going to?"

"I just…" She shrugged. Her hands flitted vaguely through the air. She was the one everyone brought their problems to because she could fix _anything_, except, apparently, her own problems when it really mattered. "Something's broken between us and I don't know how to fix it."

"You could try using some Gorilla glue," he offered with a playful grin.

She swatted his shoulder before spinning her combination. "I'm being serious. Breaking up seems like the only option left."

"I thought y'all were supposed to go to your aunt's cabin this weekend."

"We were." Tori shook her head and quickly corrected, "We are. We're going. I just don't know if it'll help."

"I know it's been kinda weird between you two lately," Andre shifted a little closer as Tori started getting the books for her afternoon classes, "but it's not really that bad, is it?"

She was glad that he seemed to be taking the conversation seriously, because she really had no idea what to do anymore, and could maybe use his advice on the subject. "I don't know how bad it is. We don't talk about it, because there really isn't any specific thing to talk about, and you know Jade isn't really one for heart-to-hearts anyway." He gave a small hum of agreement as she continued. "But it's more than weird. It's like we're… stuck in this rut and nothing I do can get us out of it."

"Maybe it's just a rough patch. You know she and Beck had a lot of 'em."

She let out a little huff and closed her locker. "Yeah, but I'm not Beck."

"No, you're not, because Beck would just give up whenever they hit trouble, and you're Tori 'I Follow Through With Everything Even If It Kills Me' Vega," he grinned. "You don't know _how_ to give up."

That drew a small, amused smile from her lips, but it quickly fell as a serious look settled across her features. Because this whole trip really was a last-ditch effort. Like, end of the line, the last song with no encore, make it or break it kind of deal. "I think I might be learning."

He mulled that over for a moment, his eyes casting up to the ceiling in contemplation before returning to hers with an encouraging smile. "Go away this weekend and remind her why y'all fell in love in the first place. Remind yourself why you love her."

"What if it's not enough?" Tori lifted her brow skeptically.

"You love each other," he answered simply. "That should be enough to get you through anything."

* * *

Jade's brow quirked at the massive suitcase weighing down the entire right side of Tori's body. She shouldn't be surprised. After all, Tori was the kind of girl who carried a purse so big you could fit a fully grown Collie in it, so of course packing for a whole weekend away would require a piece of luggage that could fit a fully grown Mastiff. "Is it only that one," she questioned as she popped open the trunk of her car, "or is Trina just late with the freight truck?"

Tori beamed in response, because that was such a _Jade_ thing to say that she was suddenly feeling very optimistic about this whole decision. Maybe they weren't as far gone as she'd originally feared. "It's just the one," she chuckled, lifting it with both hands and a big grunt.

Jade rolled her eyes, but took over the task of wrangling the suitcase into the trunk. "Jesus, what did you pack? Rocks?" She demanded as the entire car dipped from the weight of it.

With a playful elbow nudge, Tori grinned. "Just clothes and stuff. Plus, I figured you'd probably forget, so I packed a coffee maker."

Jade's eyes widened. She actually hadn't thought about that, but was grateful her girlfriend had. "How uncivilized is this place that there isn't even a coffee shop?"

"Well, the nearest store is only thirty minutes away, but," Tori dragged the word out as she slipped her fingers between Jade's, "I knew you'd be a mess if you couldn't have a cup as soon as you woke up."

Jade inhaled deeply through her nose. There were seventy-three reasons why they shouldn't work as a couple, but the number one reason on that list was why they were still trying. With a quick tug of their joined hands, Tori's body was pulled against hers. Jade's free hand slipped around Tori's waist, holding her in place as matching smiles tugged at their lips. "Screw classes, let's just leave now. Get a jump on the weekend."

Tori's face fell, immediately wiping any hint of emotion from Jade's. "I can't. I've got my Physics test today."

Jade pulled her hands free as she shifted away under the guise of closing the trunk. "Yeah. It was stupid. I have to turn in that essay anyway."

"It wasn't stupid," Tori tried to say, but Jade just brushed off her attempt at taking her hand again.

With a rushed "Good luck on your test" and a quick kiss to the cheek, Jade was heading off across the parking lot towards the building, leaving Tori more than crestfallen, because_ that_ is what they'd become. The Old Jade would've said something like "Don't fail or I'll hurt you," but this new one just said "Good luck." And Tori probably should've found that sweet, that Jade was finally being nice, but really she missed the jabs. She couldn't explain it, because it sort of defied logic and every single thing she'd ever told Jade about _not_ being a gank, but still.

They weren't what they used to be, and she missed it.

* * *

They walked in silence to the car at the end of the day. They'd been on the road for fifteen minutes, which was spent with Tori searching the radio for a good station while Jade shot disgusted looks at the display, before either of them spoke, and that was really only because of Reason 11: Completely different tastes in music. "Just plug my Pearpod in," Jade grumbled. "All the radio stations suck. There are too many commercials and stupid hosts telling bad jokes."

Tori rolled her eyes but reached into the back seat for Jade's messenger bag. She pulled it into her lap to dig out the music device before awkwardly shoving it back onto the floor behind Jade's seat. And then several minutes were spent in silence while Tori searched for something that she wouldn't mind listening to. She'd created her own playlist at one point, filled with songs from Jade's library that she liked, or at least didn't hate, but it seemed to have vanished mysteriously off the selections. "What happened to my playlist?"

Jade frowned as she steered the car onto the freeway. "What playlist?"

"Mine, that I made," answered Tori in frustration. "After that horrible drive to Malibu, remember? We spent a whole weekend in July going through all the songs on your laptop and I made my own playlist for situations exactly like this." She couldn't stop anger from rising inside of her and seeping into her voice. It was stupid, really, since it was just a playlist, but it signified something much larger.

"Well, I didn't delete it," Jade said defensively.

"I didn't accuse you of deleting it," Tori snapped back.

"Oh! So you're calling me a _liar_?" Jade shot her a dark look and both girls froze for a moment. This wasn't their usual playful bickering. This was the sort of fight that Jade would've gotten into with Beck. It was the sort of pushing she would do to see if he'd finally push back, but the fact that she was doing it with Tori was something that neither of them knew how to react to.

Tori took a deep breath and just put the entire Pearpod on shuffle, harsh and aggressive music immediately filling the car. There might have been double bass, but Tori couldn't make out much over the chugging guitars and the singer's growling screams. She didn't really care, though. A few more songs like that came up, and when the fourth randomly selected track was in the same vein, Jade snatched the Pearpod from the cup holder and, without looking away from the road for even a second, navigated the menu masterfully to pull up an acoustic playlist. While she may have been a fan of drums so fast and heavy they gave you a heart attack, her girlfriend most definitely was not, and making Tori miserable wouldn't be the best way to start off this weekend.

The brunette relaxed as the shrill and piercing guitar was replaced with a calm and soothing one. She directed an appreciative smile to the driver, but Jade was still giving her unwavering attention to the road, so Tori just fell back into a tense, but not entirely uncomfortable, silence.

* * *

They stopped at the small grocery store at the edge of the little town where Tori's aunt's cabin was. It only had half a dozen aisles, and two registers, and Jade spent ten minutes staring at the pathetic produce on display while Tori weaved her way up and down every aisle, quickly filling the small basket hanging from her left elbow.

"Can I help you find something?" The cheery clerk asked with a falsely bright smile slapped on his face.

Jade gave him a quick once-over, deciding that he was probably just barely legally old enough to work. "Yeah," she lifted one of the fruits from the bin next to her, "what the hell do you call this?"

The boy's gaze darted between Jade's eyes and the mango in her hand. "That's a mango." He pointed to the small sign written in brightly colored marker hanging over the bin. "That sign there says it's a mango."

"Yeah, thanks, I really need a lesson in literacy from a toddler." She shoved the stem into his face with a scowl. "Smell that? That's the smell of fermentation. These are overripe and unless I want to waste an afternoon making friggin' _sorbet_, this piece of chizz is inedible."

The clerk's head pulled back, his eyebrows dancing as he internally panicked over how to handle the situation. Clearly, this hadn't been part of his training. "I'm sorry you're unsatisfied with our-"

"You're damn right I'm unsatisfied," she grumbled, letting the mango fall back into the bin with a sick squish.

"Jade," Tori hissed, appearing out of nowhere at her side. "There's a farmer's market down the road we can stop at. You can get all your stuff there."

"I hope you found your visit here satisfactory?" The clerk offered in an appeasing tone, only to wilt at the sharp look Jade shot him.

Before she could say anything further, Tori cut across her with a sincere smile directed at the boy. "Yes, thank you, everything was-"

"On the verge of rotting," Jade interrupted, a sarcastically sweet smile curling her lips, "but otherwise fantastic."

Tori pushed her away from the distressed clerk and whispered, "If you can't be nice you have to wait in the car."

"I'm not waiting in-"

"Wait in the car!"

Jade just stared at her for a long moment in shock. They yelled at each other a lot. Their version of foreplay was to have an argument so thick with sexual tension that it could only culminate in screaming followed by completely devastating lovemaking, but there had never been a tone of such clear exasperation before. Tori's eyebrows turned up in apology as a strange look passed over Jade's eyes. With a small, almost imperceptible dip of her head, Jade calmly headed for the door to wait in the car while her girlfriend bought groceries for the weekend.

Tori had never explicitly stated that this weekend was an attempt to salvage their relationship, but Jade knew that's what it was. They both knew, going into it, that if they couldn't make it work now, there would be no hope for the future. Whatever was happening between them had been building for a while, and neither of them knew how to handle it, let alone fix it. Jade just kind of agreed and went along with the idea, because she figured that Tori knew what she was doing. After all, Tori was Miss Fix-It, and Jade trusted that she knew what she was doing when she had suggested a weekend away together.

But it was suddenly seeming like Tori was just as lost in this whole thing as she was, and as she sat in the car waiting, Jade could only think about Reason 8.

* * *

Tori ran both hands through her hair, just cradling her head in her hands as her elbows rested on her knees. Her eyes slid shut against the sunset streaming in through the huge window that faced the lake. She had unpacked all their things while Jade cleaned up from dinner. It had felt so domestic, like they were married and happy, and if it hadn't have been for the heavy silence during the entire meal, it would've been perfect. Tori still couldn't imagine a future without Jade in it, but the more time they spent together, the less likely that outcome seemed.

With a heavy sigh, she opened her eyes and stared at the wood floor. It was a darker shade than the walls, but the light from the sunset made the whole room glow a deep, rich, almost honey color. The air felt thick and heavy like honey, but that might have just been her mood making it seem more dramatic than it was. Her left hand dropped completely as her right slid down her face, covering her mouth. She was either on the verge of screaming, or bursting into tears, but she didn't want to do either, so she took a deep breath and stared out the window, directly into the sun and hoping that it would dry her tears before they could fall.

"I finished the dishes." Jade's arms folded across her chest as she leaned against the doorframe. It was literally the first thing either of them had said in an hour, and it was about a chore. Ridiculous. She stared at Tori as Tori continued to stare out the window. "You'll hurt your eyes looking directly at the sun."

A small shrug shifted her shoulders. "It doesn't matter."

"You already need glasses for reading," Jade murmured, taking a small step into the room. "Do you really wanna end up _completely_ blind?"

Something almost like a chuckle escaped Tori, but laughter in any form shouldn't sound so sad. "It's not like I'm ever going to pass my driver's test, so I might as well have a valid excuse. At least if I'm blind people will stop making fun of me for it."

Jade snorted, her arms falling to her sides as she slowly approached the bed. Tori's hand dropped to her lap as her girlfriend eased down next to her with a sigh. "You know, Vega, sometimes you're almost funny."

A weak smile turned up the corner of her mouth. "I miss you calling me that."

Jade's brows drew together the slightest bit, an unreadable look in her eyes. "You hated me calling you that."

"I did." Tori nodded and sat up a little straighter, her hands clasping between her thighs. "But I secretly liked it, too."

"I know." Jade placed her hands on the blanket behind her and leaned back. "You'd always get this little blush behind your ears whenever I said it."

Now Tori's brows were furrowing. "If you knew then why'd you stop?"

Jade let her eyes drift to the floor with a shrug. The truth was she'd prolonged it as long as she could, just waiting until Tori figured out whether she liked it or hated it more, and then one day Tori made a decision. "You told me to stop calling you that, so I did."

"I don't think I meant it," mumbled Tori. Her lips quirked the tiniest bit. "I really did like it."

An almost-smile tugged at the corner of Jade's mouth. "Then I'll circulate it back into my vocabulary. For special occasions and stuff so you don't get sick of it again."

Tori genuinely smiled at that. She watched her girlfriend stare at the floor with a look of wonder. It was such an impossible thing that they had gotten together in the first place, but that they'd managed to last as long as they had was even more surprising. They were always on the verge of imploding, but once they'd finally accepted and acted on their feelings, everything just seemed to click. They had a way to vent their frustrations and tensions that didn't start wars within their group of friends. They finally understood where all that frustration and tension had come from in the first place and could deal with it properly.

There was a time when they were good for each other, where they balanced each other out and just blissfully existed together. But now that they'd found that balance, everything seemed so out of place. How was that possible? How did finally figuring out how they fit together make everything feel so wrong? Maybe they were always meant to exist in a perpetual tug-of-war, fighting for an upper hand that could never be gained because it didn't exist.

"What happened to us?" she asked quietly, her voice barely above a whisper.

Jade took a deep breath, slowly lifting her eyes to meet Tori's. She exhaled even slower, just holding her gaze for a long moment. "I don't know," she answered honestly.

Tori's left hand lifted to cup her cheek, and Jade's eyes slid closed as she leaned in to the touch. An overwhelming sadness settled in Tori's chest. "I love you." But that might not be enough.

"I love you, too." But there are so many reasons why that's not enough.

Tori's thumb gently grazed across pale skin. "I want us to be okay."

"We will be." Jade opened her eyes to give Tori the most heartfelt and honest smile she could, because Reason 1. Even if, or when, they broke up, they would never not be okay, because it would hurt the other too much to see it. "Whatever happens, we'll be okay, because you're Tori and I'm Jade and as much as it pains me to admit, you're as much of a badass as I am."

It was essentially saying that they would be okay on their own, and Tori didn't deny it, because as much as she wanted to believe that this weekend was an attempt to bring them back together, maybe it was really just a last chance to be together. To remind herself, and Jade, why they'd fallen in love in the first place. If they came out the other side having rekindled that spark, then that was great. But maybe, if it led to what seemed inevitable, she should make the most of being together while she still had the chance, and remind herself why she'd put so much time into the relationship in the first place.

Tori leaned in, bringing her lips to Jade's. The kiss was sweet. It was soft, and sincere, and felt like saying goodbye.

* * *

**Part Two will be up soon, promise! Drop a review and tell me what you thought? I'd love to hear :)**


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